


Of Cinnamon, Coffee, & Cohabitation

by fbismoak (midwestwind)



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 10:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13499744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midwestwind/pseuds/fbismoak
Summary: A well-oiled machine doesn’t just spring into existence. It’s built - one painstaking piece at a time - until each piece comes together to function in harmony. So, when it comes to building her family, Felicity is willing to put in the work.(An interlude between 6.09 and 6.11)





	Of Cinnamon, Coffee, & Cohabitation

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I just want to understand more about how Felicity, Oliver and William came to be as comfortable around each other as they were in the beginning of 6.11. Speaking as someone who is part of two combined family's, nothing comes that easy - because kids are weird and dynamics are hard to establish. So, I just wanted to explore that idea because I love this little family!

It’s not like she and Oliver come back from Central City married and everything is suddenly perfect.

 

Their lives don’t really work like that. She’s been building a rapport with William ever since she and Oliver decided to start seeing each other again. Officially, anyway. Not just not-so-subtle flirting in the bunker and weighing the pros and cons of making out with each other in the elevator before the doors open.

 

It was, needless to say, an extremely frustrating few months as they worked to keep their distance. But, now, with things settling down and them finding a nice, cozy groove to wedge themselves into? It’s all just starting to click.

 

Well, sort of. William seems fine with the change. Maybe too fine. Or is Felicity just projecting? She remembers being around his age and watching men walk in and out of her and her mother’s lives. Trust issues were basically built into her core after her father left, so she wouldn’t blame Will for being wary of her relationship with his dad.

 

Especially since they’d left the city only a few weeks after getting back together for one weekend and had come back married. A move that could definitely seem a little impulsive, especially to a teenager who hadn’t been around for their first go at the whole marriage thing.

 

So, moving in is a little strange. She and Oliver are splitting their time between trying to seem normal around William and trying to track down Cayden James. Felicity barely sleeps and, when she does, it’s usually in small bursts in front of her computer. It doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for establishing family dynamics.

 

One morning, she manages to pass out in their shared bed and sleep through the night. It’s been almost two years since she’d had a typical office job that required waking up at a specific time, so it’s jarring to be startled awake by the sound of Oliver’s alarm buzzing.

 

“No,” she huffs as the bed moves with Oliver’s waking. He laughs at her, the alarm cutting off as he presses the button on it. The fact that he still uses an actual alarm clock, rather than the app on his phone like every other normal person, is so unbelievably him.

 

“Can’t you be late for work?” She pouts, pressing her face into the pillow beneath her. His fingers move gently through her hair, catching in the knots and easing them out. “You used to be so good at that.”

 

He huffs and she thinks it’s in offense, but she’s too sleepy to soothe his wounded ego right now. She’ll make it up to him later.

 

“I have to get William ready for school,” he explains, rather than debating the claim. Felicity goes a little rigid.

 

It’s not that she forgets about William. You don’t just forget a whole person, obviously. It’s just that sometimes it’s easy to slip back into the mindset of where she and Oliver had left off two years ago. Which did not include the responsibilities of suddenly becoming a stepmom.

 

Oh, God, what if she fucks it up and totally screws him up for life? Should she buy a parenting book? There’s probably tons of scholarly articles out there on childhood development.

 

“Right,” she says, more awake now. Oliver’s hand moves from her hair, warm palm skimming over the skin revealed by the tank top she’d worn to bed. “Um, can I help?”

 

She shifts, turning her head to peek out at him from where she’d been pressed into the pillow. He leans forward, brushing a soft kiss over her exposed shoulder.

 

“I’ve got it,” he assures her, pulling away from her to sit up fully in bed. He hits the switch on the lamp next to the bed, filling the room with warm, yellow light. Her eyes track the movement, catching the way the silver band on his finger reflects the light. It makes her warm inside, something she doesn’t think Oliver Queen will ever stop doing to her.

 

Felicity watches him as he slides out of bed and pulls on a t-shirt. She drifts back towards unconsciousness as he disappears from the room, sliding the door shut behind him. Through the walls, she hears him knock on William’s door, calling softly to wake him up.

 

She wakes again to the smell of cinnamon drifting through the now slightly ajar door to their shared bedroom. Against her body’s wishes, she forces herself out of bed and ventures towards the living space. Oliver is standing in the kitchen, a mug of coffee in one hand as he frowns at the news playing from the television in the living room.

 

“Where’s William?” She asks, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm the tresses. What she needs is a shower. Oh, man, she actually doesn’t remember the last time she’d washed her hair. Fucking Cayden James.

 

“He left for school,” he explains and Felicity pouts a little to herself.

 

“Oh,” she offers lamely, feeling like the worst parent ever. It’s probably stupid, but she feels like she should have gotten up in time to see William off. That’s what parents do, right? They make you a lunch and double check your homework and send you off to the bus with a kiss on the head.

 

At least, that’s what 90s sitcoms told her.

 

“I made cinnamon waffles,” Oliver tells her, offering her a soft look and not commenting on her disappointment. He motions towards the microwave, where the heavy smell of cinnamon and sugar is coming from, and she opens it to find still warm, leftover waffles.

 

She pulls down a plate and picks two waffles off the top, covering them in syrup as Oliver watches her with mild disapproval. Used to his arguments against her sugar intake, she ignores him.

 

Halfway through her food, Oliver empties the last dregs of his coffee into the sink and slides in behind her where she’s seated at the counter. He wraps his arms around her stomach and nudges her hair aside with his nose, placing soft kisses on the skin beneath her ear.

 

He smells like cinnamon and coffee and she leans into him.

 

_ Tomorrow, _ she thinks. Tomorrow she will see Will off.

 

\---

 

Once she is, once more, sleeping on a schedule that one may call remotely human-esque, Felicity begins to wake with Oliver and William. Part of it is that once Oliver leaves the bed it becomes significantly less warm and a shared shower in the morning is much more enticing than a cold bed. But, also, she likes getting to eat breakfast with the men in her life and chat with them.

 

William is stupid smart. Like, truly, so smart it’s almost unbelievable. He pulls his homework out in the mornings and sets it on the counter. Some morning it’s complete but a lot of them he’s scrambling to finish it up, which is a very Queen trait, she thinks. She checks it over as he works, impressed by the ease with which he completes things even in his sloppy, rushed handwriting.

 

“I thought you said you finished your homework last night, buddy,” Oliver says almost every morning, more teasing than annoyed with his son’s antics. Felicity figures that as long as it’s getting done on time and done well, Oliver is happy.

 

William gives him the usual caught smile, like the conversation is new rather than routine. Felicity underlines a dropped remainder with a pencil and slides it back towards Will. He spots the error and corrects it easily. Oliver frowns down at his tie, hanging untied from his collar, and lifts one end of it.

 

“Does this match?” He asks and Felicity startles, realizing the question is directed at her. Usually, he’s the one with an eye for matching his tie to his suit - Felicity likes her dresses and her lipstick and her shoes but menswear has never been her strong suit. No pun intended.

 

But it’s been a long week full of meetings with city council and the press and dealing with the backlash of the anti-vigilante bill. He’s nervous and strained, stretching himself too thin between all the things he’s committed himself to. Sometimes she thinks of the ways he’d shirked all other responsibilities - work, family, general hygiene, her - in the name of the hood he’d worn, but those days are long gone.

 

Now, he gives maybe too much of himself to each thing he loves.

 

“The blue one would look better,” she tells him, because he’s wearing a black suit and a white shirt. Any tie would match, but it’s not really about the piece of expensive fabric tied around his neck. He offers her a quick thanks, pulling the tie from his neck and heading out of the kitchen area towards the bedroom beyond.

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so nervous,” Will offers, setting his pencil aside and gathering up the worksheets he’d been finishing. Felicity slips out of her chair and rounds the counter to refresh her coffee.

 

“You should have seen him on our first date,” she jokes, lifting the coffee pot and filling the porcelain mug in her hand. She turns back to Will, leaning forward on the counter. “He just wants to be sure he’s doing the best for the city,” she explains, tacking on, “And you.”

 

William rolls his eyes at the sentiment, but Felicity’s thinks it’s more to avoid the emotional truth than out of any real annoyance.

 

“You guys don’t have to try so hard, you know,” he says matter-of-factly. He opens a folder and neatly stacks his worksheets within the flaps. Felicity frowns at him, prompting him to continue, “I just mean it’s been… weird, I guess, with all the changes around here. But, you know, good weird. It’s been… nice.”

 

He’s got a pinched expression on his face, like the sharing of his feelings is physically paining him and Felicity thinks it’s the most of Oliver she’s ever seen in him. She lifts her coffee to her lips, humming in response.

 

“Good to know,” she admits quietly, earning a shy smile from William.

 

“So, can I have some coffee?” He asks, abruptly changing the subject. Felicity fumbles for a moment, surprised at the change, but nods. She pulls down a second mug from the cabinet and fills it. She holds it out to him over the counter, but Oliver appears behind her, taking the mug from her fingers before Will’s can make contact.

 

William sighs like he’s been caught and Oliver gives him a look.

 

“You’re too young for coffee,” he reminds him and Felicity cringes apologetically at both of them, pulling her own mug towards herself and clutching it self-consciously. “Is your homework finished?”

 

Will nods, slipping his folder back into his bag and gathering his things to leave.

 

“Do you want me to pick you up later?” Oliver asks, holding a paper bag with his lunch in it out to William.

 

“That’s okay,” William says, shaking his head and shoving the brown bag lunch into his backpack. “I’m gonna hang out with a friend after school, if that’s cool with you guys.”

 

“Very cool,” Oliver says warmly. William calls his goodbyes before heading for the door. Felicity spins around, caught between Oliver’s form and the counter, and his hands fall easily to her hips. She presses up on her toes to kiss him, her arms draping over his shoulders.

 

“He’s making friends,” he says, a tempered excitement to his voice. Felicity smiles up at him, filling with warmth for the two of them.

 

“Sorry about the coffee thing,” she sighs, shaking her head at herself. “I didn’t even think about it. I mean, I was drinking coffee at his age. But, then again, I turning into all of, you know, this.”

 

She removes one arm from his shoulder to motion vaguely at herself and Oliver laughs, leaning down to kiss her once more.

 

“I like all of this,” he reminds her in between presses of his mouth and Felicity hums in response. He backs off enough to give her a serious look, “It’s fine, Felicity. Don’t be so hard on yourself when it comes to William, okay? He already likes you and it only matters that you’re trying.”

 

She narrows her eyes playfully at him, “That was very wise. Who are you and what have you done with my husband?”

 

“Well, you know, I do have my moments,” he offers dryly, rolling his eyes at her in a very similar way to how William had a few minutes earlier. She hums in agreement again, pressing up on her toes towards him once more.

 

“No doubt,” she says, guiding his head back down to her.

 

\---

 

Slowly, things start to hum. It helps when Felicity starts sleeping more and trying less. She gets up with Oliver in the mornings and they share the shower. He rouses William and gets him up for the day while she dresses.

 

They begin to move around each other easily, the awkwardness of her first few days after moving in long behind them. William and Oliver eat breakfast and, quite often, goof off while Felicity does her hair. She usually checks over William’s homework before he leaves and eats the food Oliver leaves for her in the microwave.

 

She recognizes that they’re still keeping a secret from William - the irony on her end and complexity of which is not lost on her. So far, they’ve managed to avoid any huge fallouts. William sometimes gets an attitude with Oliver or retreats soberly into himself, but so far? Things are somehow working.

 

“Is this too easy?” She wonders aloud one night as they prepare for bed. Oliver is changing out of his dress shirt and slacks and Felicity sits on the bed, watching him.

 

He does that adorable scrunched-faced confused look and she warms with affection for him.

 

“What?” He asks, expertly undoing the buttons on his shirt. Felicity plays nervously with the strings at the waistband of her pajama pants.

 

“You know, just,” she halts, dropping the strings and motioning at large to the room around them, the apartment outside, the son in the next room, “this. Has it all gone too smoothly? I feel like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

 

Oliver gives her the softest smile, settling on the bed next to her. She looks him over, dress shirt opened to the t-shirt beneath, tiredness due to a night of video games with William, rather than the kind that comes from crime bosses and evil hackers, shading his eyes. She wants to kiss him, a want she actually has the ability to fulfill.

 

He lets out a soft sound as she presses her lips to his, something low and comfortable from within his chest. Felicity places her hand on his chest, toying with one of the loose buttons as she pulls back from him.

 

“I think when it comes to our lives,” he shrugs, “we should just accept the easy things.”

 

“Oliver Queen an optimist?” She teases, leaning back towards him with a grin that he mirrors. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

 

He places his hand suddenly on her waist, pushing her back into the mattress and covering her mouth with his own. Her lips open under his, giving in easily to the familiarity of him as he hovers over her. She strokes her fingers over his shoulder blades, encouraging him to settle further into the cradle of her hips as she hooks one of her legs over the back of his calf.

 

“I know things are a little crazy right now, with the team and with Cayden,” he admits in a low voice, pulling back from her. Felicity moves one of her hands over his shoulder, towards his jaw, where her finger stroke over the short hairs there. “But here, at least, with you and with William, I finally feel like I have everything I need.”

 

She pouts affectionately at him, letting out a small noise of agreement that makes him smile. She knows what he means. Between him and William, even with the team being split and her company in limbo, it feels like they’ve found a groove. There are going to be problems ahead, outside of this apartment and the bubble of comfort they’ve created for themselves and, she hopes, William. But it feels like they have everything they need to weather those storms now.

 

“I’m glad we finally found our rhythm,” she says, meaning both the way she and Oliver had managed to find their ways back to one another, but thinking also of how their small, combined family unit moves around each other. Humming parts of a machine, weaving in and out and around each other to create the most effective output.

 

Oliver gives her the kind of smile that still makes her stomach squirm with excitement like the first time he’d asked her to dinner.

 

“I never doubted it,” he says and, yeah. It’s definitely everything they need right now.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me places?  
> twitter: [@fellicityqueen](http://twitter.com/fellicityqueen)  
> tumblr: [fellicityqueen](http://fellicityqueen.tumblr.com)
> 
> ask me things?  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/fellicityqueen)


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